Super Bowl Champions Eagles Look To Scalp Cowboys In NFC East Race

Super Bowl Champions Eagles Look To Scalp Cowboys In NFC East Race
21:31, 02 Sep 2018

It’s been 13 years since New England became the first team in five years to repeat as Super Bowl winners, so history is already working against Doug Pederson and his Philadelphia Eagles. Don’t tell that to Pederson and general manager Howie Roseman – they spent the offseason strengthening their already talented roster in an effort to make it back to the big game.

When quarterback Carson Wentz went down in Week 14, he was having an MVP-type season and the abiding feeling was that the team’s chances disintegrated with the second-year man’s knee ligaments. What nobody banked on was the job Pederson, offensive co-ordinator Frank Reich (now Indianapolis Colts’ head coach) and QB coach John DeFilippo (now Minnesota’s offensive co-ordinator) did with back-up Nick Foles. The seventh-year passer was shaky in the last two regular season games, completing just 23 or 49 passes for 202 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. But in the playoffs, he was money. After guiding the Eagles past Atlanta and Minnesota, Foles saved his best for the Patriots in the Super Bowl, throwing his fourth, fifth and sixth touchdowns of the postseason (to one interception) and suggesting the “Philly Special” play on fourth down that saw him catch a scoring pass from Trey Burton.

As NBC’s Super Bowl commentator Cris Collinsworth said, the play call might go down as the gutsiest in history and was typical of, long-time back-up QB to Brett Favre, Pederson’s approach, who’s established something of a reputation.

"I don't think I go in there consciously saying, ‘I'm going to be unorthodox,’"

said the Eagles coach.

“I think you either have it or you don't. If you just look at what I've done in two years, you'd probably call me unorthodox with some of the decisions I've made on fourth downs and going for it, two-point conversions, things like that. Sometimes you just don't do the norm, just don't do what everybody expects you to do and sometimes that can help you.”

NFL.com | Official Site of the National Football League
NFL.com | Official Site of the National Football League

The Philly boss will need to be at the top of his playcalling game as his side enters 2018 with a target on its back, beginning with Thursday’s NFL Kickoff game against Atlanta, who the Eagles replaced as NFC champions and despatched 15-10 in January’s playoffs.

He’ll also have the champagne problem of having to manage his quarterback situation. Foles, who reportedly turned down a trade to be the starter in Cleveland in April, is the reigning Super Bowl MVP but will only see the field if Wentz, who tossed 33 TDs to seven interceptions isn’t cleared to play, which he hadn’t been at the time of writing.

On the other side of the ball, Super Bowl-winning defensive end Michael Bennett came over from Seattle while, fellow title-winner, run-stuffer Haloti Ngata will slot into the starting rotation inside.

With just three starters not returning from 2018, Philly’s a strong bet to head back to the Super Bowl, especially if Wentz is fully healed and repeats the form he was showing until his untimely injury.

If the Eagles stumble, Dallas will be waiting to pounce. Owner Jerry Jones is ravenous for another tilt at the championship as he stated recently when asked what he’d pay to get another ring to add to the three he won in his first seven seasons of ownership.

“It would be shocking if you knew the size of the check I would write if it guaranteed me a Super Bowl. It would be obscene. There’s nothing that I would not do financially to get a Super Bowl.”

Head coach Jason Garrett might not have the riches of his billionaire owner at his disposal, but the playcaller is just as hungry for success – failure may cost him his job. Garrett has only two playoff appearances in his seven full seasons as head coach and one playoff victory and the former quarterback will be tested in 2018. With the retirement of tight end Jason Witten and the release of receiver Dez Bryant coming hot on the heels of the 2017 retirement of Tony Romo, this is now third-year men Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott’s team. Elliott missed six games through suspension over domestic violence allegations last season and Prescott took a step backwards. It’ll take all of Garrett’s man-management skills (if you haven’t seen All Of Nothing on Amazon Prime, he has some superb creative swearing) to keep the talented roster in the right direction in pursuit of the City of Brotherly Love.

In the City That Never Sleeps, Giants QB Eli Manning saw his new general manager show faith in him unlike his ex-head coach and GM in recent years. Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese botched the benching of the younger Manning brother in Week 13 and paid for that (and the small matter of a 3-13 finish) with their jobs.

With the second overall draft pick burning a hole in their pocket new GM Dave Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur passed up the chance to pick one of the five or six hot QB prospects. Instead, they gave Manning a vote of confidence and drafted potentially the best player in the draft, running back Saquon Barkley to buy the passer a few more years. In came free agent tackle, Nate Solder, former blind side protector of Tom Brady. They’ll team with Manning, youngsters Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard, plus all-world receiver Odell Beckham Jr, who celebrated a $130 million contract extension this week, on offense.

Defensively, Big Blue added versatile ex-Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree through a trade, to form a formidable spine with nose tackle Damon “Snacks” Harrison and punishing Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins.

Washington saw their running game go up in smoke when rookie Derrius Guice tore his ACL in the preseason opener. A combination of newly-signed 33-year-old Adrian Peterson, Samaje Perine, Chris Thompson and Rob Kelley will handle the load. Head coach Jay Gruden will also have a new quarterback to assimilate, having traded for Alex Smith to replace Kirk Cousins, who left for Minnesota. Until Gruden, no head coach had previously reached Year 5 under Redskins’ trigger-happy owner Dan Snyder, so he is in the hottest of hot seats.

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